Helech

About Helech

Helech is a term that appears only once in the Bible, in Ezk.27.11, as part of a prophecy against the city of Tyre. The exact meaning and identity of Helech is uncertain, and Bible scholars have proposed different interpretations.

One view is that Helech refers to a place, possibly the Assyrian name for the region of Cilicia, located north of the Taurus Mountains. The Cilicians were known for their warlike character and could have served as mercenaries in the army of Tyre, which would fit the context of Ezekiel's prophecy.

Another interpretation is that Helech is not a place name but rather a Hebrew term derived from the root word חיל (ḥayil), meaning "strength" or "army." In this case, the final letter of Helech would be understood as a feminine form of the pronoun "you," referring to the city of Tyre. This interpretation is supported by the King James Version and the American Standard Version, which translate Helech as "thine army."

The Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, seems to favor the interpretation of Helech as a term for Tyre's army rather than a place name.

Given the limited information provided in the single biblical reference, the exact identity of Helech remains uncertain. The mention of Helech in Ezekiel's prophecy serves to emphasize the strength and military might of Tyre, which would ultimately be brought to ruin by God's judgment, as declared by the prophet Ezekiel.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.